Is Palin pulling a Trump?

The Magic 8-Ball is clear on one thing: Sarah Palin will never be president. One doesn’t need magic to divine this truth, however. Poll after poll shows she is increasingly radioactive across large swaths of the voting public – as in pre-2008 Hillary Clinton unpopular. And yet, she flirts. So, what’s her game – will she run for the 2012 GOP nomination, or is she pulling a Trump to stay in the headlines?

With former governor Mike Huckabee (leader of the 2012 pack) out of the race, Palin may see this as her moment. Social conservatives, who gravitated to Huckabee, would be Palin’s for the picking. Also vying for those voters will be Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum. No worries for Palin on that score. She’s the big dawg and they are but fleas.

As for Mitt Romney (struggling to be seen as the field’s frontrunner), a Palin candidacy would be his worst nightmare. Her star power and ability to raise tons of cash is competition he absolutely does not need. The combination of name recognition and fundraising prowess was the one thing he had going for him.

Poor Mittens. He’s a far weaker candidate than the Beltway press seems to grasp. He’s the king of flip-floppery, has the charisma of a cement block and is viewed with great suspicion by the party’s social conservatives. Palin could be the anti-Romney they’ve been looking for.

The rest of the Republican field will get very little attention if Palin runs. This must drive that other boring governor, Tim Pawlenty nuts. His campaign is already going nowhere at the speed of light. With Palin in the race, he just becomes another interchangeable white guy.

I believe Sarah Palin will run for the 2012 Republican nomination. Why wouldn’t she? She has everything to gain by it no matter the outcome. There’s no way she (queen of the mammoth ego) would turn away from the possibility of being the first female to run for president on the Republican ticket. There’s also no way she’ll turn down all that free publicity (and wardrobe!); not to mention all the cash to be made down the road.

For Palin it’s not about actually winning or serving a greater good. It’s about keeping herself in the spotlight and feeding her greed. Look how she bailed on Alaska after only two and a half years into her first term to pursue the almighty dollar (book, TV deals). Her campaign slogan should be “Show Me the Money!”

With such a pitiful GOP field, I can see her winning her party’s nomination and then losing badly to President Obama in the general election. It’s all good, though. To Palin, losing a presidential race is actually winning!